Asia Pacific’s Oscar entries this year include local hits from the likes of China, Japan, Hong Kong and Vietnam. Screen asks if box-office success will prove a precursor to awards gold.
A fter a lacklustre showing in the previous international feature film Oscar race, the Asia Pacific region boasts one of its most heavyweight selections in recent years, populated by acclaimed auteurs and box-office hits.
Entries are down to 18 this year, from a total of 20 last time. That number could have stretched to 23 but five submitted titles are understood not to be on the final list at press time. These include Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s A Useful Ghost from Thailand, which was considered a solid contender after winning the grand prize at Critics’ Week in Cannes. However, incomplete information was submitted to the Academy that rendered the film ineligible for consideration. It could have also built on last year, when Thailand was the only country from the region to make the Oscar shortlist of 15 with How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies.
Further Asia Pacific titles believed not to have made the qualification list include Cambodia’s Tenement, Kazakhstan’s Cadet, Tajikistan’s Black Rabbit, White Rabbit and Papua New Guinea’s Papa Buka, of which the latter marked the Pacific nation’s first-ever submission.
Hoping to repeat the awards success of Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite in 2020, South Korea has entered No Other Choice by celebrated auteur Park Chan-wook. The black comedy stars Lee Byung-hun of Squid Game as a man who is determined to land a new job after being fired, dealing with those who stand in his way.
The film premiered in competition at Venice before playing Toronto, where it won the inaugural international People’s Choice Award, and had its homecoming as the opening film of Busan International Film Festival. Neon, which shepherded Parasite through its Oscar run, has US distribution rights. The feature has sold widely, including a multi-territory deal with Mubi. It marks the second time director Park has represented his country, following Decision To Leave, which made the Oscar shortlist of 15 in 2023.
Entering the race with notable Oscars pedigree is Taiwan with Left-Handed Girl. The solo directing debut of Shih-Ching Tsou is produced, edited and co-written by Sean Baker, the US director of Anora, which scooped five Oscars including best picture. Tsou’s film premiered in Critics’ Week at Cannes, where Netflix acquired rights for most of the world. The Taipei-set drama follows a single mother and her two daughters who open a food stall at a bustling night market after moving from the countryside. Taiwan last landed a nomination with Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which went on to win the award in 2001.
Lav Diaz represents the Philippines for the second time with Magellan, starring Gael Garcia Bernal as the eponymous 16th-century explorer who voyaged to the Malayan Archipelago and became obsessed with conquest. Diaz has previously claimed trophies including Locarno’s Golden Leopard, a Berlinale Silver Bear and Venice’s Golden Lion. His latest premiered at Cannes and was sold for North America to Janus Films, which took Latvia’s Flow all the way to the animated feature Oscar last time.
Martin Scorsese has lent his name to India’s entry as executive producer of Homebound. Directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, the Hindi-language drama centres on two childhood friends who dream of joining the police force, set against a backdrop of caste divisions and religious tension. Premiering at Cannes in Un Certain Regard, it was named second runner-
up for the international People’s Choice Award at Toronto. India’s last Oscar nomination in the category was in 2002 for Lagaan.
The leading documentary submitted by the region is Australian entry The Wolves Always Come At Night by Gabrielle Brady. The Mongolian-language film follows a young couple who are forced to leave their home in the Gobi desert due to climate change and must adapt to life in the city. After debuting in the competitive Platform section of Toronto in 2024, it landed further competition slots at both Zurich and London. Sold by Cinephil, the feature is a Germany-Australia-Mongolia co-production, reportedly the first of its kind.
Popular vote
Hong Kong is hoping box-office success translates into a nomination with Anselm Chan’s The Last Dance, which took more than $20m in its home market after opening in November 2024. The earnings made it Hong Kong’s highest-grossing local film of all time and it received a joint record 18 nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Starring Cantonese comedy icons Dayo Wong and Michael Hui, it follows a wedding planner who turns to the funeral business during the pandemic and partners with a Taoist ritual master. Hong Kong was last nominated in 2021 for Derek Tsang’s Better Days.
Also banking on a blockbuster is Japan with Kokuho, Lee Sang‑il’s three-hour epic about a family of kabuki performers. Following its premiere in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, the film opened locally in June and has taken nearly $110m, making it the biggest live-action film of the year to date in Japan. GKids acquired North American rights, and Kokuho will receive a qualifying run in November ahead of a nationwide release in early 2026. Japan has won this Oscar category five times, most recently in 2022 with Drive My Car, and last landed a nomination in 2024 with Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days.
Further box-office hits submitted from the Asia Pacific region include Shen Ao’s Dead To Rights from China, which topped the local chart for 16 consecutive days and grossed more than $415m. The historical drama is set against the backdrop of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre and follows a group of residents who take refuge in a photo studio during the Japanese occupation. It marks a return to the category for China, which last year submitted documentary The Sinking Of The Lisbon Maru but was disqualified for not meeting the language requirements.
From Vietnam, Red Rain earned more than $28m after its release in August, making it the country’s highest-grossing local feature of all time. Directed by Dang Thai Huyen, it is based on an infamous 81-day battle during the Vietnam War and follows a squad of North Vietnam soldiers. Vietnam has a sole past nomination: in 1994 for The Scent Of Green Papaya.
Entries that have already picked up silverware on the festival circuit include Bhutan submission I, The Song, which won filmmaker Dechen Roder the best director prize at the 2024 edition of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. It also achieved a near clean sweep at Bhutan’s National Film Awards and is only the fourth submission by the small Himalayan nation.
Winner of best film at that same edition of Tallinn Black Nights was Janchivdorj Sengedorj’s Silent City Driver, which represents Mongolia and tells the story of an ex-convict seeking redemption.
Black Red Yellow, by director Aktan Arym Kubat, represents Kyrgyzstan after winning the Golden Goblet for best film at Shanghai in June. The love story marks the fifth submission directed by Kubat, having first been selected in 1999 with Beshkempir: The Adopted Son — although none have yet to make the shortlist.
Further submissions that premiered at festivals include Singapore’s entry Stranger Eyes by Yeo Siew Hua, which debuted in competition at Venice in 2024. The story follows a man searching obsessively for his missing daughter after receiving disturbing videos that expose his secrets.
Documentary feature My Armenian Phantoms is the sole Berlinale selection to be submitted from the region and represents Armenia. Director Tamara Stepanyan turns the lens on herself as she recounts growing up in an artistic family and seeing her father in Soviet Armenian cinema. The country made the Oscar shortlist in 2023 with Amerikatsi.
Representing Malaysia, Chong Keat Aun’s Pavane For An Infant premiered at Tokyo in 2024 before going on a long festival run, which included opening Hong Kong International Film Festival in April. Starring Hong Kong-based actresses Fish Liew and Natalie Hsu, it follows a social worker at a baby-hatch facility, which looks after abandoned infants.
From Bangladesh, Leesa Gazi’s debut feature A House Named Shahana premiered at MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in 2023. The story follows a young woman forced into an abusive marriage who returns home as a divorcee to tackle the patriarchal attitudes of her community.
The submissions are rounded out by Indonesian sci-fi romance Sore: Wife From The Future, directed by Yandy Laurens, and Anjila from Nepal, a biographical drama about female footballer Anjila Tumbapo Subba, directed by Milan Chams.
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